Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday evening referred to a “…long, interesting, frank but relatively unorganized meeting” with representatives of protesting farmers and stockbreeders earlier in the day at his Maximos Mansion office.

The “unorganized” quip referred to the sheer number of representatives, roughly 30, that arrived for talks.

Speaking after the closely watched meeting in the early afternoon, the second in a week but this time with a group considered as representing the more hardline protesters who had set up roadblocks around the country’s highways, Mitsotakis said “…they (protesting producers) have nothing more to gain by staying at the roadblocks, I think they realize that themselves.”

He spoke at a public discussion event held at the Athens Conservatory.

“On the part of the government, we sought this dialogue; our doors were always open. Many of the issues that were discussed could have been broached earlier, and all this tension could have been defused earlier. Better late than never,” he added.

Mitsotakis repeated, however, that any further state support – greater subsidies for electricity and diesel fuel, among others – “…must abide by the country’s fiscal capabilities, they should be socially just and be compatible with the European regulatory framework.”